Closing arguments in trial on challenge wrapped up Tuesday morning

Lawyers on Tuesday morning wrapped up closing arguments in the two-day trial that focused on how ballots were handled, counted sorted and stored during and after the election. The trial is the result of a challenge to the election brought by pro-fracking group Broomfield Balanced Energy Coalition and Tom Cave, a member of pro-fracking group It’s Our Broomfield, Too.

The Nov. 5 election has been mired in controversy since a five-year ban on fracking passed by just 20 votes.

The ban, Question 300, was put on the ballot after grassroots group Our Broomfield collected enough signatures to have it appear. Our Broomfield has said more research must be done on the potential health impacts of fracking and the five-year ban offers more time for that research to take place.

The challenge and trial are the extension of the battle to win over voters that began long before residents went to the polls.

Plaintiffs in the election challenge case want Melonakis to declare Question 300 that did not pass because of numerous election flaws. Broomfield, which wants the judge to declare that the election results are valid, said the razor-thin outcome was the result of a close election, not flaws in the election.

It is not known when Judge Chris Melonakis will rule on the case, but said he had “a lot to think about.

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Tuesday morning, closing arguments focused on the fate of a handful of ballots.

Plaintiffs argued Broomfield mishandled at least 20 ballots that were either counted illegally or not counted when they should have been. Some of those ballots in question include military and overseas ballots and ballot envelopes that were delivered from Adams County and were not counted because Broomfield did not receive the envelopes before the deadline of 7 p.m. Nov. 5.

Broomfield attorney Bill Tuthill said Broomfield did miscount 10 ballots because of residency mix-ups. Of those 10, three voters had not lived in Broomfield long enough to vote on Question 300, but their votes on the question were accidentally counted, he said.

Another six voters were eligible to vote on Question 300, but their votes were not counted because election workers believed they had not lived in Broomfield long enough.

An additional voter changed her name, but Broomfield did not update that information in time. Her vote was not counted, because her signature did not match the name on the ballot.

The plaintiffs must prove that at least 20 ballots were wrongly counted in order for Melonakis to rule the election invalid.

Cave, one of the plaintiffs, said the election challenge is meant to look not only at specific ballots, but at the overall process Broomfield used to conduct the election. He hopes the trial will help create a better elections process in Broomfield.

“We have made a strong case that we have a chaotic process, and that Broomfield was inconsistent in dealing with these ballots,” he said.

Cave said it’s now a wait-and-see game, and is not certain what BBEC will do if the judge rules that the election was valid. However, he expects “interested parties” to try and take the matter to the state Supreme Court if Melonakis upholds the results of the election.

Tuthill said Broomfield plans to update and improve its elections process, regardless of the outcome of the trial. A study planned of the election process is planned, but city officials have delayed its start as they await the outcome of the trial.

Melonakis congratulated both sides for their engagement in an important issue. He also commended Broomfield residents for taking such an active role in advocating for their position and participating in the process by voting, volunteering as election watchers and staying involved throughout the court process.

“This is a hotly contested election, and obviously the vote counting is chaotic,” he said. “The bottom line is, people invested in this issue have represented and participated in the electoral process and created chaos. That’s a good thing. Democracy is chaos.”

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